| Family Travels Turkey |
| We visited Turkey as a port of call during our 2008 Mediterranean Cruise. The Port of Kusadasi is brimming with vendors who agressively hawk their wares. Most try to entice you in for a rug weaving demonstration (and opportunity to buy) We took a seven hour excursion into local ancient sites of Turkey--Ephesus, Didyma and Miletus. We highly recommend the tour offered by Royal Caribbean. Even as seasoned travelers, we were leary about trying to "do Turkey" on our own. We had a wonderful guide, who loved his country, and we thoroughly enjoyed our day |
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| Dating back to the 10th century BC a Didymaion (temple) has stood here. Destroyed in 494 BC by Persians, Alexander the Great conquered this area and resantified the temple. For the next 800 years, the Oracle of Didyma rivaled the Oracles of Delphi. Pilgrimages were made to consult the Oracle. Ritual baths, sacrifices, tributes (bribes) abound. Priests determined who got to ask the questions. The Oracle, who got inspired by dipping her foot into a spring, answered. In 303 AD -- a bad answer, ("lets get rid of Christianity and instill pagan worship (like us) again") and Didyma was done, priests executed, and temple closed. A massive earthquake in 1500 AD destroyed what had not been scavenged over the years. Today, all that remains are 3 of the 122 columns, but the bases of the columns inspire you with their size and carvings. |
| Didyma |
| Miletus |
| Ephesus |
| Date Last Visited -- 2008 |
| Two of the Main Sites The Great Library of Celsus and the Great Theater, which seated 24,000 St. Paul preached here after his famous letter to the "Ephesians" |
| Ephesus is absolutely the best ancient site we have ever visited. The scale of the city, the sheer number of buildings, are amazing. Filled with history, dating back to as early as 2000 BC...we know Ephesus because of the Bible's New Testament book of Ephesians The theater, where St. Paul taught in 50 AD is impressive...seating 25,000. St. John is buried on a nearby hill. Even The Virgin Mary lived just a few miles away. Ephesus is awe inspiring...no matter what your religious faith. |
| Minoans from Crete, then Mycenaeans from the Peloponnese, then by refugees from Greece during the Dorian invasion. In 499 BC Miletus was destroyed by the Persians and was surpassed in importance by Ephesus. For centuries, locals followed the Sacred Way in annual pilgrimage 12 miles to Didyma's Temple of Apollo. This city was located on a peninsula with three harbors and trade routes made it an important city. Now five miles inland, due to silt build up, it lies in ruins under excavation. The Theater is impressive. St. Paul preached here during his Third Missionary Journey |